


Realistic Dog Paintings (And other things Tzuyu wants to do)

by attitude28



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21873247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attitude28/pseuds/attitude28
Summary: It's hard to find true love. Chaeyoung didBut after an unexpected event, she's forced to work as a tutor for a Taiwanese girl who only really cares about painting dogsAnd who might grab a hold of Chaeyoung's heart
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Hirai Momo/Kim Dahyun, Minatozaki Sana/Yoo Jeongyeon, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung, Myoui Mina/Yoo Jeongyeon
Kudos: 15





	Realistic Dog Paintings (And other things Tzuyu wants to do)

Chaeyoung hears the soft whimper coming from just beside her and she gets ready for another morning. Her arms hurts a lot, more than other mornings and she wonders if it has anything to do with the fact that she slept on her side, on top of it, the metal that keeps her elbow and forearm together feels to heavy even after a whole year after her accident

The whimper gets louder, Chaeyoung closes her eyes a little bit tighter. Her dreams are much better than reality

The whimper turns into a soft cry, like the small howl from a puppy, then it takes force. The cry echoes all over the room and Chaeyoung can't pretend to be asleep anymore. It feels so cruel to do this, to pretend she can't hear so she can forget about the hurt in her heart everytime she has to start her morning

“I heard you, stop crying dude” she says as she opens her eyes and looks at the one-year old baby who's probably hungry after a whole night of sleeping. He's supposed to leave that ‘crying for food’ phase since a long time ago but he still does it from time to time. Chaeyoung wonders if he really cries for food or if he's as tired of waking up as she is

The baby teary eyes stare back at her stern gaze, he cowers in fear. Is easy to see by the way he shrinks on his spot and pouts before wailing again. Chaeyoung covers her ears and closes her eyes, she wants to run away from her sensory overload: the baby crying, her arm hurting, her head throbbing and her heart aching. It might be too much even for someone who doesn't care at all and the neighbors might complain again since the walls are too damn thin but what else can she expect? The accident left her broke and almost homeless, this cheap-ass hellhole it's the best thing she can get

“All right, all right" her voice is hoarse and she stands up from the bed “Stop crying, will 'ya? I'll give you your bottle in a bit” The baby sobs one time and curiously looks at Chaeyoung “Don't move too much, let me get your food”

Chaeyoung groans as she walks down the hallway of her apartment that leads to the kitchen. She opens the fridge and grabs one of the five baby bottles that Dahyun so carefully prepared for her yesterday's evening. Her step sister is kind, maybe a little too much but Chaeyoung won't complain when she's at the winning end of this. She makes sure to open the bottle and puts in the microwave for some good ten seconds. Some magic seconds she uses to grab two painkillers from one of the cabinet drawers and just take them without water, she gags at the taste and hopes they take the pain away from her arm

The microwave dings, the bottle is ready and she takes it out quickly before it gets cold. Dahyun told her she should check the temperature but Chaeyoung never remembers to do it, it must be good anyways…the kid eats and drinks whatever she gives him. As Chaeyoung enters her room again, the wailing has stopped and it's been replaced by some soft sniffles and small whimpers

“Here you go, you crybaby” Chaeyoung laughs bitterly at her own joke and pushes the bottle towards the baby who starts sucking like his life depends on it “Wow, you really were hungry huh? You need to start using your words soon Yeongho-yah 'cause I'm getting tired of your little police siren”

Chaeyoung lays just beside the boy who lifts his tiny feet in the air and giggles as they fall towards the bed. He's so innocent and cheerful and he's a lot like Chaeyoung: both of them don't care about anything but in different ways. The boy looks at her, still gripping his bottle tight between pudgy fingers and Chaeyoung makes a funny face. He gurgles and his smile is as innocent as it must be, putting the sun to shame

“You know, Yeongho-yah…sometimes you look a lot like your mom and other times you have your own spark. You're one cute dude”

His eyes look like those of his mother: round, innocent, dark-brown and precious on their own. Chaeyoung smile is small and bittersweet as she looks at the happy baby a second time. A patch of dark hair is barely visible on the top of his head, it started growing just a few months ago. He’s chubby like pretty much any other baby out there and the doctor said he is healthy in his medical checkup from last month so Chaeyoung really has nothing to worry

Except for the fact that this little guy reminds her a lot to her best friend, his mother

“Damn Myoui Mina” Chaeyoung sighs and looks at the roof of her bedroom, the paint is slowly falling off after the summer storms took a toll on the cheap construction “You really love to make my life a living mess”

A few minutes of silence go by, Chaeyoung is drifting off to sleep again by the time Yeongho giggles and throws his bottle to the other side of the room hitting the bedroom door with a loud thud. Chaeyoung looks at him with the same stern gaze and sits up, pointing her index finger at him like he can understand whatever she’s saying.

“Don’t do that, okay? That’s not nice”

Yeongho laughs and makes grabby hands at Chaeyoung who just huffs and picks him up, standing from the bed and walking towards the kitchen while still scolding the baby

“You’re really stubborn, you know that? Your mother wasn’t this stubborn…well, maybe she was…but not as much as you! You need to stop, you hear me? Stop, right now”

The kid keeps laughing, its fun to him just a bunch of things he can’t understand no matter how much Chaeyoung pushes and tries. He’s one-year old for heaven’s sake, he still can’t give a damn about the world when all he knows is how to suck on his thumb finger every night and tumble all over the house like some sort of automatic toy as soon as Chaeyoung lets him on the ground

Chaeyoung is about to cook something for breakfast since she already feels the side effects of the painkillers she took a bit earlier. Her stomach is growling and it hurts just a little bit. Medicine on an empty stomach is never a good choice at least that’s what Mina always said

Mina, Mina, Mina. It seems her whole life goes around her

People said it was an act of selfless love. People say that Chaeyoung is such a gentle soul

Chaeyoung could think other ways to describe herself but she can’t put it into words without feeling a tiny bit of hate and sadness

The doorbell rings one time, its barely audible, then its followed by a soft knock on the door. Chaeyoung knows she can’t ignore this so she adjusts Yeongho on her waist (who’s happily trying to eat his fist and covering it in spit) and walks towards the front door with her best face. Pretending she’s happy and healthy must be the best part of her every day

When she opens the door, Dahyun is at the other side with a big smile. Her hair colored all shades of purple covered by a beanie that’s a little too big for her head, matching the blue loose hoodie and dark pants. She has a plastic bag full of stuff that Chaeyoung can’t see and she quickly lifts it in the air to show it to her step sister

“Good morning, Chaeng! I brought breakfast for you and Yeongie”

Chaeyoung steps aside and lets Dahyun enter her house and quickly make way towards the kitchen, the plastic bag makes a dull thud against the dinner table and some contents spill from it: canned fruit and coffee, instant ramen and some banana yogurt. Dahyun takes everything out and carefully lines the object side by side to show them to Chaeyoung like some sort of art display at a museum

Art displays. Museums. It all brings a hard punch to Chaeyoung’s heart

“Choose your breakfast, Chaeng. I also brought some baby food for Yeongie since I know he likes it a lot”

“Well, he had his breakfast early” Chaeyoung yawns as Yeongho leans towards Dahyun, asking to be picked in her arms “Woke up crying and won’t stop until I gave him his bottle. Isn’t he a little too old for that stuff? I mean…he did that a lot when he was younger, but he never stops”

“I think he’s just fine” Dahyun picks the baby with a big smile and tickles his tummy, pulling another giggle from him “You’re just a big eater, right? Such a piggy! Your aunty Momo must be proud of you!”

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes and grabs the canned coffee, opening it quickly and taking a drink. She lets the bitter taste flow down her throat and sighs. Canned coffee needs to be the best drink in the world just a step behind strawberry milk but, with her budget, its hard to buy a pack of those every week. She sits down in one of the table chairs and slowly drinks some more from her coffee while Dahyun sings and hums around the kitchen with Yeongho in her arms

“How’s the wife?”

Dahyun giggles and it makes Chaeyoung gag

“Busy, you know her work is like that. But she’s really happy with it! It’s her dream since she was a little girl. Dancing really helped her when…” Dahyun voice trails off and Chaeyoung has to hold back from tightening her hold on the aluminum can. She knows where this is going “I know that’s a sensible topic for everybody, believe it or not, Chaeng we are still shocked by what happened to Mina”

Chaeyoung takes a drink of the coffee one time, two times. She’s close to finish it but she doesn’t want to. She hates to talk about this like its something that happened a lot ago

“Momo is still affected by it that’s why she opened the dance studio; you know how she wanted to name it?” Chaeyoung silence it’s the answer that Dahyun needs to continue “Myoui”

Silence strolls into the room and its quickly broken by a small squeal from Yeongho who’s happily playing with Dahyun beanie

“Why are you talking about that with me?” Chaeyoung says softly, the can is empty

“Because you asked about my wife”

“You said it yourself, Dahyun-unnie. I asked about your wife but not about Mina”

“Chaeyoung, cut the crap okay?” Dahyun gaze is strong, hard to be taken seriously with the bright color of her hair but Chaeyoung knows this goes very serious the minute her stepsister starts using her name. Dahyun is always like this, acting like she’s her real sister or even her mom, she’s been like that since that day where they met at a family dinner; Chaeyoung holding tight to her father hand while he talked about the girl in front of her, presenting her as none other than her sister just a year older “Momo loved Mina as much as you did, she was her best friend and-“

Chaeyoung can’t take it. Mina is _no one_ best friend, just _hers_

“Well, if she’s her best friend then why doesn’t she take care of her son huh? If Momo-unnie loved Mina so much, then why isn’t she here?”

“That’s what I came here, we were talking about that earlier”

“About what?” Chaeyoung feels her voice tremble and she hate it, she hates to be a lion when she’s attacked but a cub when she has no arguments. She feels like that girl holding her father hand

“About you, about how hard it is for you after the accident and Mina’s death” Dahyun sighs and takes her beanie from Yeongho hands replacing it with her own hands. The baby quickly forgets about the object and plays with Dahyun’s fingers, getting distracted by the purple fingernails “It’s been more than a year since you worked on anything and this isn’t healthy for you or Yeongho”

Chaeyoung eyes open wide, she grips the can with a killer hold and the aluminum gets distorted under her rage

“No, you’re not taking him away from me”

Dahyun lowers her gaze

“Chaeng…its good for both of you, please try to understand. Momo and I are willing to take care of Yeongho for a few months and-“

“No! I’ve already told you!” Chaeyoung feels tears at the corner of her eyes, every single drop taking force under her anger. They can’t do this to her “I can take care of Yeongho! You’re just treating me like a child as always!”

“Taking care of him? Acting like that? Come on, Chaeng stop lying! You’re just sulking there every day and treating this kid like he’s a nobody because you’re too childish to get your shit together and be better! When was the last time you went to therapy for your arm?! When was the last time you took care of Yeongie without me helping you?!”

Chaeyoung hands turn into fist, her gaze falls to the table and Yeongho giggles seems to be meant for her

“I promised Mina I would take care of her baby”

“Mina is dead, Chaeyoung! She’s dead since a year ago and you need to live because that's exactly what must be done!”

Dahyun knows she crossed a very thin line, but her concern is bigger than her kindness and she’s tired of being so soft for the girl in front of her. A girl that was so bright and bubbly and _alive_ until a car accident left her with an arm injury and life took her best friend away from her in the span of just a few days. Chaeyoung holds her gaze, angry brown orbs challenging her like she’s some sort of monster trying to take away whatever is left in her life

The older woman chooses to tell the truth

“Momo got a call from child services just yesterday after they couldn’t reach you. They know you’ve been unemployed, and they know you’re living in the wrong side of neighborhood and they’re willing to come and take Yeongho away to put him in foster care” Dahyun sighs and lowers her voice to ease the wild beating of her heart “And you will end in prison for neglecting this child”

“I’ve never neglected him-”

“That’s not what they think, Chaeng. Momo talked with them about it, she made a deal: we would take care of him for three months and that’s the same time you have to get a job and find a better place to live”

Chaeyoung looks scared. Too scared. Dahyun feels her heart clench at the sight and her mind shows her a distinct image from the past: Chaeyoung with a shirt covered in blood, her arm bleeding profusely, an exposed bone where her elbow should be, lying on a hospital bed with doctors and nurses running around her trying to keep her alive

“Three months? But-“ Chaeyoung struggles with her words and struggles with her tears, Dahyun knows she won’t cry “That so little time! The doctor said I need six months to recover fully and-“ she sighs, her voice cracks “I can’t paint, unnie…I can’t paint with my arm like this”

Dahyun wants to hug her

“I swear to everything that I have that Momo did her best, Chaeng. That’s the deal”

“If I fail…” Chaeyoung voice is soft “they’ll take Yeongho to foster care?”

“Surely. Mina’s parents are too old to take care of a baby no matter how much they want him with them”

Chaeyoung legs tremble, her whole body seems to be in the brink of a breakdown as she slumps in the closest chair. Her limbs dangle like she’s a rag doll and the lump in her throat is too heavy, she can’t breathe

She can’t fail Mina like this

“Where can I get a job? No one wants to hire a college drop out”

“Remember Jeongyeon?” Dahyun sighs because she knows she’s crossing another thin line, Chaeyoung flinches at the sound of that name “She said she can get you a job but you have to call her by night”

“Did Momo-unnie call her first?”

Dahyun nods

“She did. Jeongyeon won’t answer anyone calls unless its from her”

The younger woman nods and places her hands on the table. Her eyes look empty as they stare at the playful baby. He looks so happy, why can’t they see that? Yeongho knows who she is, Yeongho is close to her and she loves him even when its so, so hard to tell him those words and take care of him and try to replace his mother with new memories

Yeongho looks too much like Mina and Chaeyoung can’t live. No matter how much Dahyun says it

“Here’s her number” Dahyun pulled a small piece of paper from the loose pocket of her pants and pushed it towards Chaeyoung “It’s her office number so ask for her when her secretary answers the phone”

It’s all so surreal. So quick and sudden

“Are you taking Yeongho with you?”

Dahyun nods again, slowly this time

“I’m sorry, I promise I’ll take care of him”

Chaeyoung looks at Yeongho one more time. He’s clinging to Dahyun now and it isn’t because of her bright hair

“You always wanted one of your own, right unnie?” Chaeyoung says with that bittersweet smile, Dahyun just giggles “Momo-unnie loves children so much and you’ve always said you wanted to give her one”

“Everything happens for a reason, I'm a firm believer of that. Maybe that’s why all this mess happened”

Dahyun takes a good hold of Yeongho and picks him up high, adjusting him over her hips and walking towards one of the other two rooms in the small place. Chaeyoung follows her without a word and folds Jeongyeon’s phone number before keeping it in her back pocket. The more she thinks about this morning the sadder she feels, and she knows she must let go just a bit to keep her promise

The younger helps her stepsister pack everything Yeongho needs in a colorful, blue backpack filled with drawings of toy cars and Chaeyoung feels ashamed when she can’t remember any of the clothes she’s packing. She doesn’t know when she bought them or if they were gifts, she doesn’t know where Dahyun stores the clean diapers and baby wipes, she doesn’t know which one are Yeongho favorite toys and which ones make him afraid. Dahyun knows all of that since she’s always, always helping her to take care of this baby

Chaeyoung never felt so ashamed

Maybe she deserves to lose Yeongho no matter what she promised

Dahyun stands at the front door and holds Yeongho hand, her smile is so big as the baby waves by his own

“Say goodbye to Mommy Chaeng”

“Goodbye, Yeongho-yah. Take care and don’t cry too much” Chaeyoung smiles even when in the inside she just wants to get on her knees, beg her stepsister to not take away this kid and give her a second chance “Remember that your mommy loves you and always will take care of you wherever you are” the younger woman leans forward to place a loud kiss on the baby’s forehead and relishes in the sound of his happy giggles

“I’ll take care of him, Chaeng. Promise” Dahyun turns around and waves at her sister before stopping abruptly and turning around “I have something to give you, Momo found it in the morning when she was looking for Yeongie birth certificate”

From one of her loose pockets, Dahyun pulls out a small polaroid picture and gives it to Chaeyoung who ignores it. She won’t look at it when her sister its still right in front of her

“Give Jeongyeon a call and be as civil as possible, remember we all lost Mina”

Chaeyoung nods.

“All right, promise”

She can’t keep promises anyways

* * *

Dahyun steps into Momo’s new dance studio with Yeongho in one arm and the blue backpack in the other. She’s renting the top floor of a big building; the first floor belongs to an elderly woman who just widowed and needs some extra money for her medicines. She rented the top floor for a cheap price and Momo found the perfect opportunity for making her dream come true.

Music blares through every corridor and Dahyun smiles as Yeongho curiously perks up and looks around, his body moving to the beat and making her laugh at how cute he looks. She pinches his cheeks and keeps walking until she reaches certain door and the sound of Everglow’s “Adios” bounces of the walls and blows the second-hand speakers Dahyun got for her wife just one week before opening the studio

She cracks open the door and peeks in, Momo and five other girls are sharply dancing to the music in front of the big mirror wall and their bodies move fast and hard, their synchronization is so on point that its almost out of this world. Dahyun quietly steps in and sits at the very back on the couch covered by backpacks and some hoodies that surely belong to Momo’s students. By the middle of the song, one of the girls slips and falls to the ground on her side. Another one runs to stop the music and Momo immediately goes to check on the girl

“Yeji-ah, are you okay?” Momo asks, concern in her voice as she bends down and looks for any injury. The girl right knee is bruised with a red blotch “Ouch, that looks painful”

“Is okay, unnie” Yeji says with her head bent forward, it looks like she’s checking her bruise but Dahyun thinks she might be hiding her tears after all it must be not only painful but shameful to suddenly fall in the middle of a choreography. Momo has a strict “no making fun of your classmates” policy so she knows the other girls won’t laugh “I’m fine”

“You did amazing, Yeji-ah!” Dahyun screams with her hands cupped around her mouth. Yeongho, who’s sitting on her lap, laughs out loud. Her little display of support immediately brings attention to both and everyone _squeals_. Girls plus babies always equals a lot of noise. Ryujin is the first one to run towards them

“Oh unnie! He’s so cute! Hi!”

Yuna follows her and bends down to pinch Yeongho cheeks. He throws them a gummy smile and the girls squeal again. Lia and Chaeryeong help Yeji stand up since she’s as excited as everyone and almost _demands_ to see the baby. Momo laughs out loud at everyone excitement and just follows them towards the couch

“Yeongie!” Momo shouts and Yeongho quickly reaches for her among the crowd of girls surrounding him. The dancer just laughs and picks him up, giving him a long kiss on his cheek and keeping him in the center of this metaphorical storm “Aren’t you a popular little boy? You have all the girls swooning over you”

“Is he your baby, unnie?” Lia asks with a smile, her arm around Yeji shoulders to stop her from falling to the ground

“Oh no, she's my friend's” Momo says and her smile only gets bigger when Yeongho wraps his little arms around her neck and rests his head on her shoulder. Dahyun coos while everyone else seems surprised by how affectionate the baby is towards Momo

“He's been around us since he was a baby” Dahyun explains to the girls and scoots to the farthest side of the couch leaving a bit of room for them to sit down “Isn't he cute?!”

“He is!” Yeji quickly replies, her eyes turning into two beautiful crescent moons “How old is he?”

“Turned one two months ago”

“Well, girls” Momo interrupts as she sways from side to side “I know you want to fangirl over my nephew but class is over and I promised your parents I would let you go by noon so…”

All the girls whine. Ryujin stomps her feet in a cute tantrum

“Let us stay here for a while, unnie. Pretty please?”

Momo sighs and shakes her head from side to side. If Dahyun is here with Yeongho then that means they need to talk. She can't keep ignoring the elephant in the room

“Nope, I promise he'll be around okay? For now, go home and rest and I'll see you tomorrow”

Dahyun brings her hand to her mouth in an effort to suppress a giggle. Those girls look so cute pouting like that and trying to grab Momo's attention one way or another

“Okay, unnie” Lia nods and bows as much as she can with Yeji by her side “See you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow, unnie!” Chaeryeong shouts and leans to pat the top of Yeongho's head as the baby sucks on his thumb “Bye, bye”

One by one, the practice room ends up empty. Momo sits down on the floor letting Yeongho crawl around the place and play as much as he wants to while she looks at her wife with worried eyes. Dahyun folds her arms across her chest and nods

“She accepted”

Momo feels like a whole weight has been lifted from her shoulders but she knows this is just the start to something bigger

“And?”

“Well, Chaeyoung is unpredictable really but…she said she'll give Jeongyeon a call later and she'll try to get a job” Dahyun gets down on the floor and sits besides Momo, leaning her head on her shoulder while she looks at the crawling infant who's having an intense conversation with himself “I'm really scared”

Momo wraps an arm around her slim form, she turns her head to look at the baby and when she finds him playing she pays full attention to her wife

“Why?”

“I almost lost my sister a year ago, I was so close to losing her and it still haunts me to this day” Dahyun pauses “But it's like Chaeyoung never recovered, it's like-”

“Like she died that day” Momo finishes that sentence that Dahyun can't

“Yeah”

Momo kisses the side of her wife head, her grip around her shoulders tightens unconsciously. This warm surrounding Dahyun makes her feel better even if it's just temporary, even if her worries only gets pushed to the back of her head instead of disappearing forever

“I trust Chaeyoung” The dancer says “If I didn't trust her, I would've never made that deal with child services. Now, forget about that for a bit okay? Let's go home and have dinner with Yeongie and then we can watch some movies to cheer you up"

Dahyun nods happily, she closes her eyes when Momo gives her a small peck on her lips and just goes with the flow. Things are meant to be solved not only thought so the best she can do is wait, wait a little more for Chaeyoung to come back

She needs to have as much faith as possible

* * *

Chaeyoung waits anxiously for someone to pick up her call. She holds tight to her phone and wonders if it still works since it keeps ringing, but no one seems to pick up. It’s half past seven, Jeongyeon must be in her office according to all that Dahyun said in the morning. Chaeyoung is ready to hang up after the fourth ring with no answer until she hears someone picking up

_”Hello?”_

The voice seems foreign, Chaeyoung assumes that must be Jeongyeon secretary

“Oh yes, uhm…hello. My name is Son Chaeyoung and I’m looking for Yoo Jeongyeon…uhm, is she there?”

There’s a brief silence and Chaeyoung thinks the call might have ended since the connection isn’t that good by night, must have something to do with her phone service

_”Are you done pretending now?”_

No longer foreign, the voice at the other end drips with venom as Chaeyoung trembles from head to toe. A chill runs down her spine and stays there until she finds the right words to say, she hopes her voice doesn’t shake as much as her body

"Dahyun told me you have a job for me"

_”You pretend nothing happened for a whole year and now you’re asking for my help? Shielding yourself in Momo because you are as scared as you’ve always been. Are you done pretending?”_

Chaeyoung balls her fists tight, the phone case creaks under her grip

“Fuck you”

 _”I loved her. I loved her more than you could ever known and maybe if she stayed with me, then she would be alive but trusted her best friend and said best friend wasn’t meant for her”_ Jeongyeon voice is soft but its still entwined with pain and hurt. Chaeyoung remembers what Dahyun said before leaving but she can’t hold back, she can’t pretend this isn’t hurting her pride

“You don’t fucking know what is like. Do you think I want to be alive? Do you? I knew Mina for many more years and somehow you think you know everything about her because you dated her…you know what? Fuck you one more time, unnie. I want nothing to do with you and your stupid job”

_”Fine, I was doing this because I care about Yeongho but now I remember how much I hate you”_

Yeongho. Chaeyoung completely forgot about the kid in the middle of her rage and now she’s scrambling back to the starting point because she has no other choice. She _needs_ this job (whatever it is) and even if her hate for Jeongyeon is strong, she needs to swallow it down and face the consequences of all the stuff she has done for the past year

“Stop, stop” Chaeyoung says, her voice desperate “Don’t hang up…I got no other choice, just tell me what’s the job about”

Jeongyeon quickly gets under control and sighs, there’s some ruffling of papers behind the line before she talks again

_“One of my collegues recently moved from Taiwan with her daughter and she wants someone who can teach her Korean since she knows how to speak it but not how to read or write it. Her daughter wants to enroll in college next year but if she doesn’t know the language then its gonna be too hard for her”_

Chaeyoung attentively listens, like a child receiving their parents scolding after some mischievous deed. She wonders how young this ‘daughter’ is and how much they’re going to pay her for being a tutor. She’s not a teacher and she never taught anything before, not even art so this is a whole new challenge

_”You’re already in, I just need to know when are you free and where can you meet her”_

“I don’t care about the schedule or anything like that, she can meet me in my apartment if she doesn’t mind driving to the dark side of town”

 _”I’m sure she won’t give a damn about it as long as you help her daughter”_ Jeongyeon is writing something, the sound of the pen on top of the paper is too obvious even when they’re too many miles away _”I’ll give her a call, can you start tomorrow?”_

“Yeah”

_”Good, I’ll tell her everything and then message you about it”_

Jeongyeon hangs up the call like there’s no one behind the line. Chaeyoung wouldn’t expect less from her but it still hurts, it burns like a hot rod stuck to her skin. Because Jeongyeon was her partner in crime one of her closest friends along with Mina, she supported her like no other when she choose to drop out of college to pursue her dreams of becoming a painter and writer and even lend her some money during the rougher times

Now they’re two strangers hating on each other for all those words they couldn’t say because pain numbed all of their rational senses

Everyone lost Mina, that’s what Dahyun said

But how much of Mina did they lost?

Chaeyoung lays in bed, her head turned to one side looking at the empty spot that normally belongs to Yeongho every night. He must be asleep by now in Momo and Dahyun’s house, he loves to nap as long as he isn’t hungry and maybe Chaeyoung loves to nap with him just as much. A sharp throb in her arm pulls her back to reality and she closes her eyes tight, her free hand flies to her elbow and puts some pressure in it with no result, it keeps hurting, it feels just like the bone is out of the skin and Chaeyoung is sure that she finally outgrow the metal piece the doctors placed a year ago to keep her elbow and forearm bones together. She was meant to replace it four months ago but the surgery was too expensive and no health insurance could help her pay it

The pain gets stronger, it flows all over her arm up to her shoulder and Chaeyoung lays on her side, curling up in a fetal position as she whimpers. The effects of the painkillers are fading but she can’t take more than two per day and she already had her daily dose.

“God…” she moans, her voice broken by the burning sensation that drives her crazy. She slightly opens her eyes and catches a glimpse of the polaroid picture that Dahyun gave her in the morning, she must have thrown it there before sleeping all afternoon long. Chaeyoung knows she isn’t strong enough to look at the picture but she doesn’t care, maybe it can help her walk through this unstoppable hell

Momo has an arm behind Mina shoulders, both throwing peace signs at the camera. Chaeyoung recognizes the background as the coffee shop where they always gathered to do homework and have a little talk about life. There’s some Japanese scribbled in the white part of the polaroid and Chaeyoung barely remembers how to read Japanese since her skills are getting rusty but two friends who come from the land of the rising sun are always a good help

_For the best girl ever: Momoring! By Mina <3_

If Chaeyoung had some tears to spare, if she hadn’t cried every day then maybe she could’ve cried again. She isn’t in the picture, she isn’t even mentioned but the whole situation brings her too many memories, all the memories she swore she would bury when she burned every single picture and object she had related to Mina

Chaeyoung thinks on how hard it must be for Momo to just…detach from this picture and give it to her, offering it to soothe her heartache. The picture looks worn out after years and years of being forgotten but the memories keep it shining bright like its some piece of gold. Chaeyoung holds it close to her chest and ignores the pain in her arm one more time

She hopes her dreams take her to a coffee shop, sitting at the table close to the window, drawing strawberries in a napkin while Momo laughs out loud at the newest gossip in her classroom




_”Do you see that over there, unnie?”_ Chaeyoung points at the most renowned art gallery in town: big as a palace, it covers a whole block in town and brings in thousands and thousands of tourists every day making awfully long lines just for the sake of looking at the big name paintings hanging on the walls. Jeongyeon visited a few times in the past (all of them invitations from Chaeyoung) and its no big deal for her but she knows that building means the world to her younger friend

 _”Of course I see it, fool”_ Jeongyeon remembers saying _”Why do you ask?”_

 _”One of my paintings will be there one day”_ Chaeyoung sighs, its exaggerated and meant to be dramatic _”Can you imagine? Because I can! Son Chaeyoung presents her most recent work and everyone looks in awe as I give my speech and then, when I have all eyes on me, I go down on one knee and ask Mina to marry me”_

Jeongyeon smiles. Both in the memory and in recent times. She wants to laugh out loud but the tight lump in her throat chokes her

 _”For that you need to confess first, Chaeng”_ Jeongyeon pats the top of her head, ruffling her hair softly as they keep walking past the art gallery towards the coffee shop to meet Mina and Momo _”I’ll just wait for the Youtube video titled ‘Beautiful marriage proposal goes horribly wrong’”_

Chaeyoung pouts and links her arm with that of her unnie

_”Wait for my wedding invitation, just you see”_

Jeongyeon is standing at the balcony of her office. As an important lawyer in Seoul, she has little free time to spend with anyone other than herself so she treasures this quiet and peace more than the average worked would. Seoul looks beautiful by night: buildings rise, shining like they’re fireworks in the sky, cars zoom by, people walk back home. Is all so picture perfect and beautiful, Jeongyeon really loves this spot for her little smoke break

_Those things will kill you_

“I know, Mina” Jeongyeon whispers as she takes a drag of her cigarette and the ashes softly fall to the ground that’s three floors down “But they calm me down”

 _Next time you want to smoke just tell me_ Jeongyeon closes her eyes picturing Mina: her gummy smile barely visible as its hidden behind her mint green scarf, the cold breeze makes her blush _I’ll kiss all of your worries away_

An ambulance drives by with the siren on. Red, white and blue blare through the streets. Jeongyeon covers her ears with both hands and almost bites off the smoke between her lips

 _”Where is she?”_ she asks to a worried Dahyun standing in the hallway of the hospital outside the door of Chaeyoung’s room. That’s what the nurses told her when she stormed into the reception, frantically asking for her friend. Momo is there too, standing near the wall with her arms crossed like some kind of mean bodyguard _”Dahyun, come on…tell me where is she? Is she inside there?”_

Dahyun weakly nods, she looks so pale. Everyone knows that their favorite ‘dubu’ is pale but this time it goes way beyond her normal skin tone. Dahyun legs get weak and she almost faints if it isn’t for Momo quick reaction who grabs her by the waist and holds her tight against her chest

 _”What the hell happened?”_ Jeongyeon asks, she’s in the brink of tears but she pushes them back because this has to be a nightmare, this isn’t happening to her or any other of her group of friends _”She texted me like half an hour ago and she was just fine”_

 _”Chaeng got into a car accident”_ Momo whispers, Dahyun has her gaze lost on the door *”We don’t really know what’s going on, we just arrived”

 _”She’s bleeding so bad…”_ Dahyun whimpers and leans back in Momo’s embrace, her eyes flooded with tears that slowly drip down her cheeks and fall to the ground. Jeongyeon feels her heart sinking *”A-and her arm is…her arm is busted wide open on one side, Momo! Sh-she’s bleeding all over the bed!”

 _”Shh, shh, calm down babe…its okay, the doctors are trying their best_ ” Jeongyeon knows Momo isn’t as strong as she looks, she knows Momo wants to cry as bad as Dahyun does but there’s something pushing her back: the need to be a support for her wife, they just married and their marriage can’t crumble right here

Jeongyeon thinks about someone else

_”Does Mina know about this?”_

Momo flinches

_”She’s pregnant, Jeongyeon we can’t just tell her like that”_

Jeongyeon takes a drag out of her cigarette when the ambulance gets lost in the far side of the street. There’s no noise again, cars seem to be silent and the lights in the buildings slowly turn off one by one

_”What are you saying, Momo? That’s Chaeyoung right there!”_

_”And then what?”_ Momo fires back _”You want Mina to be in the hospital at the same time as Chaeyoung?!”_

Jeongyeon pulled out her phone, anxious to call Mina and tell her everything: she deserves to know, Chaeyoung is just not anyone: not for Mina, not for Jeongyeon. Chaeyoung is their best friend

_”Well fuck you, Momo. I’m calling Mina”_

_”Make way! Make way!”_ a doctor shouts while he runs down a hallway. Another doctor follows him along with two nurses. Jeongyeon thinks the world is going crazy…her phone is snatched by Momo and she wants to punch her in the face because this isn’t the time to make a prank. She loves pranks and she would make them everyday if she could but now it’s not the time for that

 _”Wait until the doctors say something”_ Momo voice is hard, rough, completely different to her cute, lovely and squeaky voice she uses every day _”Please, Jeongyeon…for the sake of Mina”_

Hours go by, Dahyun falls asleep against Momo chest while they’re waiting on the uncomfortable chairs of the hospital. Jeongyeon stands by their side with arms crossed. Chaeyoung just left the operating room after an arm surgery and now they’re patiently waiting for any updates on her status. Doctors come and go, entering and leaving Chaeyoung’s room more time that Jeongyeon can count and they make her dizzy

 _”We’re monitoring her for the next 24 hours”_ One doctor says to Jeongyeon and Momo _”Her elbow and forearm were the most affected, completely shattered along some broken ribs and a twisted ankle. The metal pieces we used for her arm are big so we need to check if she has any discomfort with them”_

Jeongyeon nods. She keeps nodding even when words float around her like a bunch of hungry sharks. Her mind only thinks about Mina and how worried she must be. The night is twice as long and she goes back home in the morning after Momo and Dahyun promise to call Mina and tell her everything. Work gets the best out of Jeongyeon and she can't visit her friend for three days

Four days after Chaeyoung's accident, Jeongyeon comes to pay her a visit bringing a box of her favorite brand of strawberry milk

Momo gets in her way, standing in the middle of Chaeyoung's room and the hallway. Her eyes are red and tears are still fresh in her cheeks. Jeongyeon shakes to the core when she looks at her crying friend

_”Momo, what’s wrong? Is Chaeng okay?”_

_”Mina is dead, Jeongyeon”_

“Jeongyeon-ah?”

A voice behind her back brings Jeongyeon out of her thoughts and into the real world. She throws her cigarette to the ground and crushes it under her high heels, she wants the night breeze to take away the remains of the smoke in her clothes because she knows she'll be in trouble

“What's up, Sana-chan?” she smiles and turns around. Sana, dressed in a white shirt and black pants and with her long brunette hair falling down to her shoulders, looks at her with that gentle gaze she always uses, her smile is kind but laced with tiredness. “I thought you'll be home by now”

“I just got out from work and I wanted to pick you up so we could go home together” Sana walks towards her, she wraps her arms around her waist and scowls when she smells the awful scent in her girlfriend's clothes “You've been smoking again”

“Sorry” Jeongyeon kisses the top of her head “I'm slowly quitting though. This is my third cigarette in the week”

“That's great!” Sana squeals and slightly bounces “You're really getting better! I'm proud of you, you know? You used to smoke a pack a day and god, it was awful!”

Sana looks at her with those beautiful brown orbs filled with all sort of stars and galaxies, it's as if she forgot about how tired she was and only cares about hugging the living life out of Jeongyeon. Her hugs are always tight and they fill Jeongyeon's empty spaces just right

“Let's go home then”

Sana knows there's something inside Jeongyeon's mind. Her eyes never lie no matter how much she tries to hide it. Jeongyeon is a Jack of all trades, a mystery box full of surprises but Sana never pries it open, she never tries to force Jeongyeon into talking. She knows Jeongyeon will tell her in the right time

“Wanna have dinner with me?” Sana says cutely, Jeongyeon shakes her head as she grabs her car keys with one hand and her girlfriend hand with the other. They walk slowly towards the exit

“Don't we have some leftovers from your mom's ddeokkbokki?”

Sana smiles, she links her arm with Jeongyeon and leans her head on her shoulder

“Okay! Remember that horror series you loved so much? I heard is back on Netflix”

“Really?” Jeongyeon eyes lit up and Sana is glad her girlfriend still gets some genuine joy from the small things “But…aren't you scared of it?”

“Of course but its either that or the awful music documentary-”

“No way!” Jeongyeon interrupts “We're not watching that!”

Sana laughs and pulls her girlfriend, they stumble and laugh again

She knows Jeongyeon will tell her everything in the right time

* * *

Dressed in a tank top and a pair of loose pants, Chaeyoug strolls around her small apartment barefooted with a broom and a mop in her hands. She opens the door to the unused small room at the end of the apartment, it's been used as storage since the very beginning and thick layers of dust cover every spot around the place

There's a faint scent of rust and humidity and there's not really much stored there even when that's it's only purpose. Chaeyoung thinks of throwing away all of her art supplies, they're bulky and messy and no longer serve its purpose. There's an old canvas in a corner, its covered by a thin white sheet with even more dust piled on top of it. The young woman sighs, this will be the longest day of her life

Grabbing the broom and using an old rag as protection from dust, Chaeyoung slowly sweeps around gathering everything and making room big enough for at least a table and a chair. Ten minutes after, the room looks as good as it can be with all her art supplies pushed to the back along the old canvas. Some empty cardboard boxes fall to the ground when Chaeyoung kicks them thinking they were full and she groans…they're surely there since she moved to this place

Half an hour, a good mopping and some more pushing later, Chaeyoung sits on the chair taking a good look of this new room she just created. It's better now, the art supplies and canvas still look hideous but there's nothing she can do. There's good lightning, the table in front of the chair is clean so Chaeyoung is sure that her 'student’ won't have any problems when their sessions start. It could be any time now, Jeongyeon only texted her a cryptic message saying that the girl will arrive at Chaeyoung's apartment any hour after noon

It looks so good. Chaeyoung tries to ignore but it looks amazing

This room could work as a perfect studio for her to do some painting once in a while: perfect lightning, quiet, peaceful. Its wonderful, really, and it puts a smile on her face. She stands up and puts her hands on her waist

Opening the boxes with the art supplies, she takes a brush and some paints. The texture of both feels so different under the tip of her fingers and Chaeyoung knows she's finally at home so she runs to her kitchen and grabs a glass of water for her brushes and another one for herself. Using the chair at the new room, she sits in front of the canvas and takes a deep breath. She wonders what could be under the thin white sheet and, with butterflies flying in her stomach, she pulls at it to reveal whatever it's under it

Its blank

There's nothing in it, just an empty canvas looking back at her

Chaeyoung furrows her eyebrows

“Why would I keep an empty canvas?”

When Chaeyoung it's about to look for a pencil, the doorbell rings. The young woman only sighs and makes a mental list for two things: one, buy a watch and two, shut off the damn doorbell as soon as she can

The doorbell rings again

“Coming!”

Her inspiration flies through the window and she realizes this is the life she must do now. She's still dressed in her cleaning clothes and she sighs when she found out. Well, better than nothing

Opening the front door, Chaeyoung opens her mouth to greet but nothing comes out

The girl is tall, at least a whole head taller than Chaeyoung since she has to look up to her. Her hair is long and it covers part of her face, her shirt it's a little too big and she nervously plays with the loose end

“Uhm…hi?” Chaeyoung says, it sounds more like a question since she totally confused. When Jeongyeon told her about a girl trying to learn the language, Chaeyoung thought of an actual _girl_ like maybe a kindergartner or even a teenager but not someone who might as well be the same age as her

“Hi” the girl voice is soft but not shy, she looks up and their eyes finally meet, with a side smile she continues “Are you Miss Son? I'm here for the classes”

Chaeyoung blinks one time and nods softly before coming back to earth and realizing how stupid she must look

“Oh yeah! Yeah…I'm that” the painter giggles and bows “Nice to meet you, please come in”

The (not so) girl walks inside and remains in a single spot, not moving from there. Chaeyoung walks in front of her and makes a hand gesture for the girl to follow her until they reach the new room and the girl sits down by the table with Chaeyoung sitting in front of her. Just then the artist realizes that the girl is carrying a notebook and a pen that she puts on top of the table

“So, uhm…yeah” Chaeyoung giggles again, hating the silence “My name is Son Chaeyoung and uh…I'll help you with your grammar and stuff. I'm sure your mom told you about me!”

“Yeah” the girl nods, her gaze scans the room with curious looks “She told me you could help me”

“What's your name, by the way?” Chaeyoung smiles when the girl sets her big eyes on her, she hopes this smile can help her(self) feel at ease and maybe take away the awkwardness of this first meeting

“I'm Tzuyu. Chou Tzuyu”

“Tzuyu, huh? Sounds nice”

Tzuyu smiles at her and nods. Chaeyoung grabs a pen from the nearby supplies along a clean sheet of paper and sets it right in front of Tzuyu's notebook

“Tell me Tzuyu-ssi, how much do you know? Should we uh…start from the basics or-?”

“I know some syllables only” Tzuyu furrows her eyebrows “But they get confusing and I can't read them”

“All right” Chaeyoung nods and scoots her chair so she can be a little closer to the tall girl “How about we start from the alphabet? Sounds good?”

“Mhm”

“Okay”

Chaeyoung it's in the middle of writing her third character when Tzuyu speaks again and the artist knows her attention was never set on the notebook or the syllables she's writing

“You're a painter”

Chaeyoung giggles because Tzuyu sounds so cute, like a kid that's amazed by the sight of a toy store or the beautiful fireworks in the sky. She forgot to cover the canvas and store the brushes and paints inside the same box where she found them so maybe Chaeyoung is at fault for Tzuyu's curiosity

“Yeah, well…I guess I am”

“Do you know how to paint dogs?”

Chaeyoung blinks curiously and she lifts her gaze from her piece of paper to Tzuyu curious eyes that are looking right at her with all kinds of sparkles in them

“Huh?”

“Yeah, dogs…like puppies and that”

“Oh! Yeah, I do! I mean…I never had to paint a full portrait of one but I doddled them once in a while, why do you ask?”

Then Tzuyu face lights up like those sparkles Chaeyoung saw in her eyes

“Because I love dogs! They're my favorite thing in the world!”

Chaeyoung laughs. More than laughing, she's bursting into a fit of giggles and Tzuyu soon joins her like she just told the best joke ever.

“You're the first person that asked me that” Chaeyoung says, still giggling “You must really love them, huh?”

“I do!” Tzuyu continues, her smile wider by now and she looks lovingly at the empty canvas. It's like shes picturing something in it but can't actually tell what it is. Chaeyoung rests her chin on her own hand and looks at her “I wish I could be a good artist…maybe then I could paint all the realistic dog paintings I wanted”

“Realistic dog paintings” Chaeyoung is laughing now, really laughing and she's amazed by how good it feels to do this. Tzuyu is laughing with her while she grabs her pen and starts copying the three characters that Chaeyoung wrote on her paper “Well, don't lose hope on that Tzuyu-ssi maybe one day you can paint them”

“Can't you paint them for me?” Tzuyu asks, eyes and hand focused on copying

Chaeyoung feels her smile weaken

“Probably”

Tzuyu is satisfied with her answer and she pushes her notebook towards Chaeyoung

“Is this all?”

“Oh no, we got more to go”

“Can I copy while you do it?”

“Sure, if that's easier for you”

Chaeyoung keeps writing character after character while Tzuyu leans closer to her and copies every one of them as good as she can. Giving the notebook a side glance, Chaeyoung realizes that they're messily written but it's a good start

“All right, did you get them all?”

“Mhm”

“Good, now practice them a bit more and then I'll help with your pronunciation okay?”

Tzuyu nods and starts making some repetitions of the same character all over her notebook. They're not in order, she starts written in a corner then at the center then at the bottom corner and so on. She doesn't really care as long as her written gets better

Chaeyoung leans on the table as she looks at Tzuyu practicing, it no longer feels as awkward as before

“So…who will pick you up? Your mom?”

“Yup, two hours from now on she said”

“Ahh. I guess that leaves us with half an hour for more practicing. Time sure goes fast, don't you think?”

“Yeah”

Grabbing the pen near her sheet, Chaeyoung starts doodling a bit on it: she starts with a small flower then with a heart. Tzuyu is focused on her work with her tongue slightly poking out of her mouth and her pen firmly grabbed in her long, slim fingers

“How old are you, Tzuyu-ssi?”

"I'm 23”

“23? Wow, we're the same age and here I was thinking you were younger than me"

Tzuyu giggles and it's short lived when she makes a mistake on her writing and she scribbles all over it with a small grunt before starting all over again

“You're taller than me though! You could be my unnie with that height”

“Unnie? What's that?”

“Its how you call a woman who's older than you, means older sister”

“So my mom is my unnie?”

Chaeyoung burst out laughing, she knows she shouldn't since this girl is learning her second language and she's great at speaking it but it's still so unintentionally funny

“No, silly. Your mom is your mom”

“Oh, I see. Thanks for that”

Tzuyu looks proud when she finally covers the whole paper of her notebook with _hangul_ and they seem to be better written by the end of it. Chaeyoung smiles and grabs Tzuyu notebook to look at her progress

“You did pretty well, Tzuyu-ssi. You'll get better the more you practice”

“How much will it take for me to learn this?”

Chaeyoung remembers Dahyun said something about having three months to get her life together. But three months it's a lot for something like this…she can't lie to Tzuyu but she needs the money, she doesn't know how to handle this situation for three months but she needs to do it if she wants to keep taking care of Yeongho…

“I think three months will be enough”

“Three months? That's okay”

There's a brief pause, Tzuyu looks again at the empty canvas

“Miss Son…if I learn how to read and write before two months, do you think you can teach me how to paint?”

Chaeyoung is a bit taken back by the question but she nods

“Maybe? I mean! Painting takes a lot of practice and time, Tzuyu-ssi”

Tzuyu hums and turns page in her notebook. Her face looks gloomy but she doesn't say anything else and just starts writing more hangul on the sheets. Chaeyoung knows she might be disappointed by her response but, what else can she say? She can't lie about art

Well, she lied about everything else just for the sake of money

The painter reaches forward towards Tzuyu's notebook with her pen and starts doodling a little dog with its tongue out and sunglasses. It quickly brings a wide smile to the tall girl face and she laughs brightly when Chaeyoung writes _‘Good Job!’_ in english and round letters above the dog's pointy ears

“Here you go” Chaeyoung says softly “You did great today, Tzuyu-ssi so this is your reward”

“Thank you so much, Miss Son”

When Tzuyu smiles at her, brightly and with her eyes closed, Chaeyoung has a quick flashback of certain gummy smile that makes her heart churn and burn inside her chest

“Its nothing, Tzuyu-ssi”

A car horn sounds on the outside of the apartment and Tzuyu quickly grabs her things before standing up

“I need to go now! That's my mom!”

“Let me walk you to the entrance”

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu walk towards the entrance of the apartment. Once there, Tzuyu makes a deep bow with her notebook in front of her, Chaeyoung does the same and slowly waves goodbye with her hand

“Thanks for today, Tzuyu-ssi”

“See you tomorrow, Miss Son”

When the door closes, Chaeyoung sighs and walks again towards the new room. Lightning isn't as good now as it was two hours before but it still helps, she sits in front of the canvas with her newly found pencil in one hand and the other resting on her chin. What could she draw?

A quick lightning of pain flows along her injured arm and she hates it, she hates so much that this arm reminds her of all the things she lost…

But she'll push through it. For Mina. For Yeongho

Chaeyoung ignores the pain and starts sketching on the empty canvas, it gets harder the more she moves her arm

She wonders how a dog portrait would look on this white piece of paper


End file.
